


Do-Over

by ladydragon76



Series: Reckless Sparks [2]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:00:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24284011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydragon76/pseuds/ladydragon76
Summary: Summary:Hot Rod and Deadlock had A Thingtmback in the early days of the war.  It was illicit.  It was fragging treason, actually, but they weren't the only ones.  But now Hot Rod is Rodimus, and Deadlock is Drift, and they're so very, very different than they once were when affiliation badges were hidden for the sake of illegal street races and equally hard and fast frags in dark alleys.
Relationships: Drift | Deadlock & Rodimus | Rodimus Prime
Series: Reckless Sparks [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1737340
Comments: 24
Kudos: 75





	Do-Over

**Author's Note:**

> **'Verse:** IDW  
>  **Series:** Reckless Sparks  
>  **Rating:** PG-13  
>  **Characters:** Hot Rod/Deadlock, Rodimus/Drift  
>  **Warnings:** Sticky, Taking liberties with canon timelines,  
>  **Notes:** Tier Reward fic for Flyby, and continues directly from the last one.

Hot- Rodimus' jaw dropped, blue optics wide and bright as he just stared. Drift couldn't help but smirk at the reaction, an expression he knew showed off one of his fangs. "Surprise," he growled a little, though despite it being the same vocalizer, everything else was so perfect and new, and they'd cleaned and tuned it too. Drift, whether going by Deadlock or not, had never had such a smooth voice before.

"Frag me running," Rodimus breathed and almost stumbled a step toward Drift. Then all that shock vanished into anger. "The frag have you been?!" he snapped, voice echoing in the dim silence of the medbay.

"I got stationed with Turmoil on his ship," Drift answered, noting the clenched fists and trembling spoiler. "Then I left. Got captured. Tried to escape. Got someone who helped me killed. Tried to do some good in the universe after that." He shrugged and shifted on his feet. Why did it matter to Hot Rod -damnit! - _Rodimus_ where Drift had gone?

"Changed your name too," Rodimus huffed and crossed his arms, looking away.

"Changed it back," Drift said and paused as he chewed on his lip a little. "Megatron named me Deadlock, and I wasn't his anymore." He shrugged again and crossed his arms too. The Great Sword hung heavy from his back, and the two shorter blades sat uncomfortably on his hips. Drift still had his blasters because he wasn't a complete idiot, but Rodimus' reaction was sure making him feel like he had missed something- was too dumb to work it out for himself.

Rodimus glanced at Perceptor, then back to Drift. "The blue optics are weird," he said, looking away again.

"Yeah. I was slagged off when I saw what they did to me." Drift spread his arms and looked down at himself. "This much white woulda stood out way too much in the gutters."

Drift didn't see the slap coming and gaped for a moment, but he did catch the second swing by grabbing Rodimus' fist before the punch to his chin landed. "Hey!"

"You _vanished_ on me!" Rodimus cried.

Oh, frag. _Cried_.

"I didn't have a choice, Roddy," Drift said and refused to let go when Rodimus tugged against the hold Drift still had on his fist. "I couldn't wait until after the next meet-up, and... We're- we _were_ enemies."

Rodimus tugged again, so this time Drift let him go, watching in confusion as Rodimus twisted away and began to pace.

"I don't understand," Drift said, hands spreading. "I wasn't your only competition."

Drift forgot just how fast Hot Rod could move when he wanted to. There was an orange finger jabbed up under his nose and furious, blazing optics level with his own. "You were more than 'competition', so don't play dumb with me!"

"I'm n-" Drift cut himself off and held his hands up and out to his sides when Rodimus' face twisted more and that finger leapt forward, close enough that Drift was sure he'd have been poked had he not jerked his head back. "What would you have had me do?" Because Drift wasn't dumb, no matter how he sometimes felt about himself, he knew he wasn't because he'd never have survived, never have learned and adapted to all the twists and turns of his life had he been. He'd thought it had only been him back then, only him with the extra feelings he shouldn't have had.

Drift had apparently been wrong.

"I was told where to report and when. I had no idea I was being sent away until we were underway. How was I supposed to contact you? How was I supposed to even know it mattered, Roddy? We raced and we fragged and it was fun. You never said anything."

"And what?" Rodimus snorted a derisive laugh. "Involve feelings we couldn't have for each other?"

"Exactly," Drift replied gently. "So what else could I have done?"

Rodimus' shoulders slumped. "I just missed you, ok?"

Drift smiled and stepped forward, one hand held out. "Hi, I'm Drift. I'm not exactly an Autobot, but I'm apparently a Wrecker and definitely not a Decepticon. Wanna be friends?"

Rodimus glanced down, and a smile broke over his face like a sunrise as he swung his hand in to clasp Drift's wrist. "Hi, Drift. I'm Rodimus. You can call me Rodi for short."

**Author's Note:**

> [CLICK HERE](https://ladydragon76.dreamwidth.org/334490.html) to learn more about me!
> 
> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:  
>  **Feedback**
> 
>   * Short comments
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>   * “<3” as extra kudos
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> 

> 
> **Author Responses**  
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